1. Neymar rarely played due to a year-long ACL injury and returned to his boyhood club Santos in January 2025.
64 Facts About Neymar
1. 2.
Neymar won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning the Golden Ball.
3.
Neymar captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men's football in the 2016 Summer Olympics having already won a silver medal at the 2012 edition.
4.
Neymar appeared at the 2018 World Cup, and three years later helped Brazil finish runner-up to Argentina in the 2021 Copa America, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
5.
In preparation for the 2022 World Cup, Neymar became Brazil's all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification matches, with 12 goals.
6.
In 2003, Neymar moved with his family to Sao Vicente, where he began playing for youth side Portuguesa Santista.
7.
Neymar began playing football at an early age and he was spotted by Santos who offered him a contract in 2003; where he was inducted into their youth academy, which has, in the past, produced Brazilian internationals like Coutinho, Clodoaldo, Diego, Elano and Alex.
8.
Neymar made his professional debut on 7 March 2009, despite being only 17 years old.
9.
In December 2010, aged just 18, Neymar came third for the 2010 South American Footballer of the Year, behind Andres D'Alessandro and Juan Sebastian Veron.
10.
On 5 February 2012, when he turned 20, Neymar scored his 100th goal as a professional football player, against Palmeiras in the Campeonato Paulista.
11.
Neymar finished the 2012 Campeonato Paulista with 20 goals and was voted the Best Player and Best Forward, and Santos were crowned champions.
12.
Neymar finished the 2012 season with 43 goals, one more than his breakthrough 2010 season, but this time doing it in just 47 matches instead of 60.
13.
Neymar was one of three finalists in the 2012 FIFA Puskas Award and finished runner-up behind Miroslav Stoch.
14.
Neymar won the 2012 South American Footballer of the Year, retaining his award and winning it ahead of the likes of Ronaldinho.
15.
On 25 April, his agent and father revealed that Neymar intended to leave for Europe before the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
16.
Ahead of his last match for Santos, on 26 May against Flamengo in the first round of the 2013 Brazilian Championship, Neymar was in tears during the national anthem, with the match ending in a draw.
17.
On 3 June, Neymar was unveiled by Barcelona after passing medical tests and signing a contract that would keep him at the club through June 2018.
18.
Barcelona's attacking trio of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", ended with 122 goals, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football history.
19.
On 30 November, Neymar was shortlisted for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or alongside Messi and Ronaldo, and subsequently came third.
20.
Neymar joined PSG on a contract that would run until 2022.
21.
Neymar finished in third place in the 2017 Ballon d'Or and in the same year was ranked the third-best footballer in the world by The Guardian, both times behind Messi and Ronaldo.
22.
Neymar was rushed back to play for Brazil at the 2018 World Cup in Russia following the injury in February, but his playing style was not quite the same as he appeared to be avoiding physical contact entirely rather than simply trying to draw fouls.
23.
Neymar suffered a foot injury in late January 2019 that kept him out of his side's Champions League round of 16 tie against Manchester United.
24.
On 27 April, Neymar scored in the 2019 Coupe de France Final against Rennes, but Rennes made a comeback and won on penalties.
25.
In July 2019, Neymar was absent from training with PSG, with the club talking disciplinary action.
26.
Neymar's offer was dismissed by PSG because of French football federation regulations, and he ultimately agreed to stay at PSG after the talks to return to Barcelona broke down.
27.
Marca were praiseful of Neymar, considering him the most decisive and the best player in the world following his "masterclass" performances leading up to the final.
28.
Neymar helped PSG win their record-tying 10th national championship, finishing the season with 13 goals and 8 assists across all competitions, registering the fewest goals scored since arriving in Europe in 2013, in a season marked by various injuries and collective irregularity.
29.
On 6 March 2023, PSG announced that Neymar would undergo surgery in Doha and would be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
30.
James Westwood of Goal wrote that Neymar wasted the best years of his career and that in 2017 he had "the world at his feet" playing for Barcelona, throwing away his chance to join Pele and Messi as a "true legend of the game" by joining PSG.
31.
On 15 August 2023, Neymar completed a transfer to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal on a two-year contract, joining a list of European league players who signed for the club.
32.
Neymar returned to action on 21 October 2024 during Al Hilal's AFC Champions League match against Al Ain, marking his comeback after a lengthy absence.
33.
On 30 January 2025, Neymar announced through his social media that he would be signing a contract with his first club Santos.
34.
Neymar will wear the number 10, the number which Pele had worn during his time spent between 1956 and 1974.
35.
On 23 February 2025, Neymar scored directly from a corner kick and earned another Man of the Match.
36.
On 26 July 2010, Neymar was selected for the first time in the Brazil senior team by new head coach Mano Menezes for a friendly match against the United States to be played in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
37.
Neymar took part at the 2011 Copa America in Argentina, where he scored two goals in the first-round game against Ecuador.
38.
On 11 May 2012, Neymar was selected for the squad of the Brazil Olympic football team to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
39.
Neymar was selected as part of Luiz Felipe Scolari's Brazil squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup on home soil.
40.
Neymar's performances saw him receive the Golden Ball for player of the tournament.
41.
On 5 March 2014, Neymar scored a hat-trick in a friendly win against South Africa in Johannesburg.
42.
On 2 June, Neymar was named in the Brazil squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
43.
Many critics agreed that Neymar's punishment was too lenient and that he should have been issued a red card.
44.
In May 2018, Neymar was named in Tite's final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
45.
In May 2019, Neymar was included in Brazil's 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa America on home soil.
46.
On 7 November 2022, Neymar was named in the Brazil squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
47.
On 2 March 2025, Neymar was named in the 29 men in the preliminary squad for the national team.
48.
Neymar's dribbling skills and playmaking ability have been described as reminiscent of Brazilian compatriot Ronaldinho.
49.
Neymar finished in third place in the 2015 and 2017 editions of the Ballon d'Or, both times behind Messi and Ronaldo.
50.
At PSG, Neymar was expected to lead them to their first-ever Champions League title; the club lost to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final.
51.
In 2023, Spanish publication Marca wrote that "Neymar's star is dimming due to a seemingly endless string of injuries".
52.
Westwood of Goal cited Neymar's move to PSG as the reason for him not being regarded as a "true legend of the game".
53.
Neymar supported Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 Brazilian general election.
54.
On 8 May 2013, Neymar was named by SportsPro magazine as the most marketable athlete in the world, ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
55.
Neymar starred in a 2014 advert for Beats alongside other football stars such as Thierry Henry and Luis Suarez, with the theme of 'The Game Before The Game' and the players pre-game ritual of listening to music.
56.
Neymar was featured on the front covers of the video games Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 on the North American version, after Konami Digital Entertainment announced that he had joined Pro Evolution Soccer.
57.
Neymar appears as a playable operator in the 2022 first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II alongside fellow football players Paul Pogba and Lionel Messi, whose character models were released as downloadable content to coincide with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
58.
Neymar appeared on the cover of Time magazine in February 2013, the first Brazilian athlete to do so.
59.
The title read "A Crucificacao de Neymar" and subtitled: "the Brazilian ace turns scapegoat in a sport where everyone plays dirty".
60.
In March 2015, Neymar had the fourth highest social media rank in the world among sportspeople, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and David Beckham, with 52 million Facebook fans.
61.
In ESPN's list of active sportspeople in 2016, Neymar was ranked the fourth most famous athlete in the world.
62.
In November 2014, Neymar appeared in FIFA's "11 against Ebola" campaign with a selection of top football players from around the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Xavi and Didier Drogba.
63.
Neymar was the subject of a 2022 Netflix documentary series titled Neymar: The Perfect Chaos.
64.
In 2013, Neymar appeared on a rap music video, "Pais do Futebol" by MC Guime.